I'll keep this short.
A few days ago I was inspecting hives. The next hive in line began to swarm. I watched them. Here's what they did:
They pitched in a nearby pine tree first. Then, they returned to the original box.
Then they swarmed again and pitched in a different pine tree. After being in that tree for a little while, they moved into a mating nuc with a virgin queen in it.
Then they swarmed again and pitched in a pine tree. Then they moved back into the mating nuc and haven't left since.
This happened over a period of 2 days.
None of my queens are clipped, only marked.
What would make them do this?
A few days ago I was inspecting hives. The next hive in line began to swarm. I watched them. Here's what they did:
They pitched in a nearby pine tree first. Then, they returned to the original box.
Then they swarmed again and pitched in a different pine tree. After being in that tree for a little while, they moved into a mating nuc with a virgin queen in it.
Then they swarmed again and pitched in a pine tree. Then they moved back into the mating nuc and haven't left since.
This happened over a period of 2 days.
None of my queens are clipped, only marked.
What would make them do this?